Creation Museum Part 3

Before we got to head into the Garden of Eden to see the biblical creation story played out, we first needed to see (evidently) what the consequences are forÂ failing to agree with biblical teachings. If I recall correctly, the next section was called “Graffiti Alley.” The intent, I’m assuming, is to show how degraded society can (and has) become when the scripture is abandoned.

News clippings, graffiti, and very clever video all gave examples of societal decline. The video was shown as looking through a window and listening to conversations of teens on the phone or talking to their friends. One moodily-lit wall portrayed various news clippings in a collage.

Along with some walls of graffiti, there were a number of signs declaring what happens when scripture is abandoned or compromised.

“Scripture abandoned in the home leads to… a generation no different than the world.”

“Scripture compromised in the church leads to… scripture abandoned in the home.”

There’s no reason or evidence given for these conclusions, however, and the notion that abandoning scripture in the culture leads to hopelessness and meaninglessness is just patently absurd. My life is filled with hope and meaning and none of it has anything to do with religious doctrines.

They do have a sign posted that is probably meant to shock, but had the opposite effect on both Craig and me. If something in this museum was a cause for hope, this sign was it. Somehow, I doubt that the prediction will come true, however… but it’s not a bad thought.

Graffiti Alley was lit in a dark, sinister way in stark contrast to the rest of the museum, presumably to help set the mood of hopelessness and despair. The decor is that of a city’s back alley with crumbling brickwork and broken windows to complement the graffiti and proclamations of societal decay due to the abandonment of scriptures.

It is in this alley that we were introduced to the idea that one of the greatest secular threats to a biblical worldview is the idea that the world is millions of years old (Curse you, science!)… vividly portrayed by a giant wrecking ball which has smashed into the side of a church.

From that point on in the museum, the idea that the universe is more than 6,000 years old is bad… and wrong… and unbiblical. They, of course, even go so far as to say that it is unscientific (see the idea of “Different views because of different starting points” in part 1). It’s patently absurd, of course, to say that the universe is only 6,000 years old, but that doesn’t stop the museum creators from doing everything they can to justify their position, no matter how ludicrous it is.

But a television monitor in the next room showed just why they have to do it. I caught it at just the right time to snap this picture.

“‘Millions of Years’ undermines every major doctrine of the bible,” it says. The caption reads “Long ages would undermine the basic teachings of Christianity.”

I, along with millions of other folks, including Christians, don’t think so. It may undermine the literal reading of Genesis, but there are plenty of Christian teachings that don’t rely on a timeline at all. Love thy neighbor, do unto others, etc… I don’t think there’s any shortage of beneficial advice in the bible that is free from the restrictions of such a timeline. But perhaps the folks at the Creation Museum don’t consider them to be “major” doctrines.

So after the “horrors” of the scripturally bankrupt Graffiti Alley showing how society is in a horrible state, we were shown that there was still hope… and the place to find that hope is at the beginning… a mere 6,000 years ago.

Here’s “The Creator’s Eternal Plan” as stated by the Creation Museum…

The six days of creation set the stage for the fulfillment of God’s great eternal plan. He created humans in His likeness, desiring to dwell with them for eternity. Knowing they would rebel, God, in eternity, had already planned for the Son of God to step into history to provide theÂ free gift of salvation.

I pondered this statement for a bit. It says that God created humans because he wanted to hang out with them. That seems a bit un-godlike… to attribute a simple emotion like loneliness to God. Why else would he want to dwell with humans? That aside, he created them knowing they would rebel. Why do that? Why not make humans that wouldn’t rebel?

That hardly seems like a perfect creation, especially when it states that he knew beforehand that they would rebel! That’s intentionally creating a failure. But before he even created them, he planned to fix them by sending the “Son of God” into history (that’s himself, by the way) to give the “free gift of salvation”… to the humans that he created in such a way that they would screw things up and need salvation. It’s hardly a “free” gift, anyway, now is it?

It makes absolutely no sense whatsoever, and the only way that it can possibly be explained is with the cop-out answer of “The Lord works in mysterious ways.”

I had hoped to get to the Garden of Eden in this post, but I forgot about Graffiti Alley. Coming up next, though are the Garden of Eden and the Fall.

7 Comments

My brain is starting to melt. This is depressing. Why fight science so vehemently just to “prove” some ridiculous lie that makes no sense whatsoever? They answered it themselves. Because if they’d don’t, the whole basis of the bible as the inspired word of god becomes meaningless.

“Because if they’d don’t, the whole basis of the bible as the inspired word of god becomes meaningless.”

The creator of the museum admitted to this more or less in Bill Maher’s film RELIGULOUS. He said something to the effect that “if this part of the Bible is wrong, why should I believe that part over there?”.

The main of Christian theology boils down to the idea that we were created sinners because of Adam and Eve, which is the BO; and that Jesus’ Salvation is the Right Guard. “We stink, we can’t help it, but God can fix that for you.” I only think that the nice parts of the New Testament (turn other cheek, love your neighbor even if your neighbor is a Samaritan,) are window dressing to the biblical literalists who see the main message as “We are bad, therefore Jesus.” Without a literal Adam and Eve to bring sin and death into the world, it all falls apart for them. No, it doesn’t make sense. But, that’s “Human Reason” for you.

Jesus was a rebel. He has been misrepresented. It has taken me a huge part of my life to realise that being a christian (and I hate labels) has nothing to do with following doctrines or rules. No one can do that because we are all from the seed of Adam.
The fall is real but the only way to be restored is through the blood shed by Jesus (the perfect “Adam”) and by allowing the Holy Spirit to change us on the inside out. God can give us supernatural ability to be spiritual beings in earthly bodies. Without this extra dimension, life is meaningless and futile and degenerates into an orgy of decline. I am so thankful that this spiritual dimension in my life relieves the emptiness so prevalent in the cold scientific mind. We all have our vices in this world, some are addictions but some are a cloak of selfrighteousness which hides our fear and insecurity. God is not under threat and will never be a victim. It’s good to strive for perfection but unless God releases us from our bondages of which there are many, we will never be free to fly like the eagles.

There are plenty of Christians who would stoicly disagree with you… and feel that they were absolutely correct in there interpretation and that you were wrong and going to Hell for YOUR interpretation, and that following rules and doctrines is, indeed, the way to get to Heaven. I would respectfully ask each of you why you are right and the other is wrong?

I have no problem with someone having their own interpretation of religious belief. As I said before, if it gives you comfort, that’s good for you. If, however, you are take this belief and use it to twist and contort scientific knowledge and basic educational foundations, then we have a problem.

To say that “without this extra dimension,” life is meaningless is absurd and insulting. Millions of atheists have an abundance of meaning in their lives and live each wonderful day with great joy and happiness. The “cold scientific mind” you mention is anything but cold. Talking to scientists or reading their works will easily show that the “cold scientific mind” is filled with wonder and awe, joy and love, and an unquenchable thirst for knowledge about this amazing world in which we live.

God, or more accurately, the IDEA of God, plays little to no part in that. Religion is not needed for meaning or morality or goodness or joy or conetentment.